Dust to Dust
by withyouandthemoon
Summary: My head-canon about what the end of The Originals S05 may hold for Klaus and Caroline.


She didn't mean to finish the wine.

One of her personal traits that Caroline took the most pride in was her remarkable self-control. Half a glass of red to relax and warm up her body after a long day? Sure, why not. Finding the whole bottle gone and herself a bit light-headed before she even knew it? Not exactly her thing.

Quietly sighing, Caroline twirled the empty glass between her fingers. She could almost pick up the tiny hum of the air gliding along the delicate curve, if not for the incessant nagging of the rain outside the windows of her hotel suite. Note to self: it does rain in Rome, no matter how hot and sunny her romance-maniac kind of a mind pictured the ancient city.

She also didn't mean to forget about checking the weather before she came here.

A call came a week ago about a newly-manifested young werewolf roaming the area and causing troubles. She hopped on a plane shortly after, telling herself that it was an urgent, code-orange issue that required her immediate attention, although there was rarely an item on her schedule that wasn't planned at least one month beforehand.

It was a mere coincidence that one of her informants happened to find a lead to a certain hybrid on the same day.

A lead which was now crossed off from the note-pad sitting right before her on the coffee table, along with the countless other dead-ends scribbled inside.

No one had caught wind of him since the _final battle_ as they'd come to call it. Cliché, and not in the least bit accurate for there was no way this could be the end of all supernatural commotion, but somehow still fitting in all its brutal glory and ominous implications.

Caroline had only heard of what happened in bits and pieces. Some of them lined up, some of them didn't, but all of them led up to the biggest news of centuries in the entire supernatural community. For months it was all everyone talked about-be it a hushed whisper in the back alley, a vengeful rant fumed by booze and recklessness, excited but clueless gossip among kids in the boarding school, or cryptic-wording posts from daring paranormal social accounts.

He was Klaus Mikaelson after all. If he was not imposing on your physical being, you bet your ass he would be an intruding thought in your spiritual one. There was just no going around-Caroline should know.

Still the rumor was never confirmed. Not according to Caroline anyway, even if she'd seen the look of utter desolation on Hope's face after she'd performed the most complex form of the locater spell for the hundredth time; even if Rebekah's last message to her was lying in her inbox like a vervain bomb, to the point where she felt burned whenever she touched her phone.

 _Nik's gone. Just thought you should know._

But to Caroline those were just two other puzzle pieces that she held in her hand. Seemingly crucial ones, yes, but single and misplaced all the same. And she would not stop until she got the full picture.

Board was set up in her office, turned to the back whenever anyone entered; important evidences were pinned, lines drawn, leads and inference written in varied colors. She remembered another board not unlike this from a lifetime ago, when her then best friend was trying to track down the epic love of her life whisked away by the villain out of nowhere.

And now, after all this time…the kidnapper went missing. The chaser became the chased.

Talk about karma.

Once or twice, or more like a thousand times in the past eight months she'd thought about the possibility of going back in time and changing it all. Of actually being present at the crime scene instead of being stuck on this cold trail like the renegade cop on some outdated TV show.

But then she'd remember his face when she'd seen him last, such tenderness and vulnerability shining through his eyes with sheer passion like molten steel, pulling her in and swallowing her whole, and his low voice all but a whiff of smoke haunting in his wake, " _some battles are destined to be fought alone, sweetheart._ "

And fight their own battles they did. Only that his had already been finished, and hers was just beginning.

Or… _not_.

Caroline's head snapped up the second she caught the reflection on the wall of her wine glass, the vague outlines of the figure sending a violent jolt through her dead heart, leaving her entire chest paralyzed and aching. Putting down the glass with a shaky hand, she slowly trod to her glass balcony door, her eyes fixated on the dark shadow of a man on the opposite side.

She hated so much to admit that with unkempt hair and eight-month worth of beard, drenched to the bones in rain and weariness, Klaus Mikaelson was still the hottest man she'd ever seen.

But Klaus' hotness had never saved him from her sharp tongue.

"When I pictured our possible Rome encounter, I was thinking more along the lines of _Roman Holiday_ with a supernatural happy-ending twist, not _Pretty Woman_." She stopped two steps from the door, crossing her arms.

Klaus eyed her with a half-smile, "one of these days I'll be sure to get to the bottom of all your lovely little references, Caroline."

Caroline snorted, gesturing towards him with her index finger, "this is a little too creepy, even for you."

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, love." Klaus repaid her with a cheeky grin.

"Fine, let me spell it out for you. You appear on my balcony at night, in the rain, without a sound, after having gone missing for eight whole months." She tilted her head slightly to the side, silently taking in the rigidness of his body, "like I said, creepy."

" _Missing_?" Klaus croaked out as if tasting the word on his tongue, a bitterness creeping into his smirk, "that is certainly an interesting euphemism."

"So you did fake your own death." Her eyes sharply bore into his, and the subtle flick of his eyelashes was all the confirmation she needed.

Klaus held her gaze almost defiantly for a while before sighing, shaking his head, "and I would have stayed dead, if not for your persistent pursuit almost blowing my cover." He licked his lips, his eyes once again meeting hers, "you've been most devoted to your students, Headmistress Forbes."

Even his masked hesitancy was scorching, the inconspicuous pauses smoldering with unspoken desire and despair.

"Last I checked you didn't exactly fit into the criteria of _young and gifted_ , you know. More like old and temperamental," Caroline's face softened at the slight widening of Klaus' eyes as he registered the true meaning behind her words, "and impossible to get rid of."

"You almost made it sound like a bad thing."

"Well I couldn't decide until I knew for sure, now could I?" Caroline shrugged, "it was like, _Schrodinger's Hybrid_ , or whatever." She pointed a finger at his raised eyebrows, "don't say a word. You can't even begin to imagine what you can pick up among a bunch of modern-age teenagers."

Klaus clamped his lips shut with an amused look on his face like he normally did in these situations, but Caroline found that she couldn't even bring herself to get annoyed this time. Even with the glass door between them she could sense the tension pulling at his muscles, the tumultuous thoughts swirling in his brain, the hopelessly unquenched thirst withering away in every fiber of his being, all while they continued with their light-hearted banter as if nothing had happened.

But something _did_ happen.

Something that put invisible lines at the corner his eyes and unnoticeable wrinkles on his forehead. Something that dragged him and slowed him down even when he stood tall and still. Something that managed to further age this ageless being-if that was at all possible.

Overpowered by a sudden urge to get closer to him, Caroline slid the door open in one swift move.

A whirlwind of sensations instantly hit her vampire senses like she just stepped under a waterfall, and for a moment there she couldn't breathe, drowned in those key elements that tingled her skin, infiltrated her lungs and echoed on her taste buds: _Rain. Rome. Klaus_.

"And it seems that my _persistent pursuit_ paid off." She carefully kept her voice leveled and her breaths even-one word louder than necessary and one intake deeper, and she knew she would be done for.

Klaus had that much of an effect on her. Caroline had long since made peace with that fact.

And ever since she stopped blocking out whatever connection sparkling between the two of them, some other details that she once overlooked on purpose became painfully clear. Like how Klaus' whole being tilted towards her without taking a single step whenever she was in the vicinity. A shift in his weight, a tiny turn of his jaw, an extra layer of allure in his already sinful voice-she didn't even think it was intentional.

"I always knew you were as stubborn as you were smart, sweetheart." There was an unusual glint deep in his eyes, kind of like the one she spotted in the young werewolf's eyes when she left him with a regional pack that was willing to take him in. Part relieved, part wistful. The kind when you knew you were done roaming alone.

Sensing his unease, she changed into a lighter tone, "it takes more than some supernatural gossip to make me fall for your little ruse, you know."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love." Klaus chuckled softly, hanging his head, a curl of his unruly hair falling into his left eye.

Before Caroline realized it, her hand had already reached out on its own accord, gently smoothing the lock to the side. His skin was still wet from the rain, yet so hot to the touch she wondered why there wasn't any steam forming under her fingers.

As if not realizing it himself, Klaus leaned into her touch until his temple was resting in the half-hold of her palm. The joint sigh from the unexpected wave of comfort charging through startled them both.

Klaus started to pull away, albeit agonizingly slow, and the emptiness accumulating in Caroline's palm felt just as palpable as his warm flesh. Acting on pure instinct, she let her fingers follow his movement attentively, sliding down his stubbled cheek until they hovered over his jaw line, the friction propelling an inaudible purr from the back of her throat.

"I see the old saying still has some merit in it-" Klaus whispered, his breath tickling the tender skin between her fingers, and shivers went through her like an evening breeze saturated with the drizzle, making her insides incredibly soft and mellow, "distance does makes the heart grow fonder."

Apparently that _inaudible_ purr was not so inaudible to vampire hearing after all.

Caroline huffed a little, but her thumb rubbing circles against his jaw was gentle as ever, "smug, aren't we? Never heard of the saying about alleged death making the ego grow bigger though."

Klaus widened his eyes, feigning innocence, "why love, I was actually talking about myself. But it's always flattering to learn that the feeling is mutual." His lips curled into a devilish smirk, "though I shouldn't really be surprised, given that you've traveled across the ocean for an _allegedly dead_ person."

" _Alleged_ being the key word." Caroline wiggled her eyebrows at him, "and if you've ever been a mean girl in high school, you know not to take anything at face value."

"Can't say that I have." Klaus softly snorted, a playful shimmer dancing in his eyes, "but I guess being an _evil villain_ for a thousand years would somewhat suffice."

"More or less." Caroline nodded haughtily, biting her lips to keep a straight face, but failed miserably as a string of laughter rippled out of her. Shaking, her hand fell off from his cheek, only to be secured back to its previous place by his.

Caroline cleared her throat, "I'm getting the hang of it anyway." There was a puzzled look in Klaus' eyes, but he didn't push her, content with just letting her voice flow around him, while feeling her skin under his callused fingers.

"I mean…there's always all this rumor about the original hybrid surrounding me. A massacre here, a bit of a torture there, some vicious scheming once in a while. You know, the usual." She rolled her eyes a little out of habit, and he merely hummed, the sound vibrating low in his chest, and Caroline was suddenly made hyper aware of their proximity.

She lowered her voice accordingly, her eyes stumbling straight into the blue-grey tempest of his, and she weathered it like someone set on chasing the storm, "and then…there's you."

Damaged, troubled, unbelievably lost; wary, earnest, secretly expectant… _warm. Living. Real_.

His eyes burnt her like a hellfire and Caroline could swear his irises were flashing amber for a split second, the beast in him bursting from the barely-held seams. But a deep inhale later he settled for a dark smirk, his eyes now downcast, "do I live up to the rumors?"

Caroline sighed, "give yourself some more credit, Klaus."

"Now don't go all soft on me, love." He shook his head a little, humorless chuckle booming inside, faintly like the hauling from a ghost house, "I'm much too jaded for your pity."

 _Damn him for his sorrow-filled dimples._

Caroline could see the dark shadows struggling on his face, violent and rampant like some wild carnivorous vines, or a deadly spell that she once saw a coven of witches perform in her travels which created a dreadful mark that grew from the victim's extremities right to their heart. She didn't know if she knew him so well that she could see through his usually airtight façade or if what'd been eating him inside was just powerful enough to tear that façade apart.

Whatever it was, she would _not_ leave it alone as he was probably wishing with all his will power.

Instead she put a little more pressure under his jaw, gently but firmly forcing him to look into her eyes, "do you really think that low of me? Or yourself?"

He stared motionlessly at her, his face perfectly blank save for the flash of registration of his own words thrown back at him. The rain poured down harder in that long drawn-out moment, the wind picking up, stumbling through branches and buildings and everything in between, but all the noises in the world could not have drowned out the deafening silence between them.

Klaus's hair was soon all soaked again from the rain blown towards her balcony, drips of water gathering on his eyelashes until it finally got overload, and he blinked, heavy and disoriented, the raindrop sliding down his face like a tear, but his eyes were dry as a lifeless wilderness, cracking into bottomless gorges.

"I don't know what to bloody think anymore, Caroline."

Caroline heard his whisper in the raging storm, followed by the breaking of her own heart, as she watched his face crumble in front of her into ruins, and an irrational vindictive thought filled her heart that the ancient city below their feet should instantly collapse from the tempest around them, that _he_ should not be the only one falling apart.

 _Not alone._

"Then don't." She heard herself whisper back, still holding his gaze as her trembling lips approached his.

The second their lips touched Caroline knew her senses from earlier were correct-he did taste like rain. And Rome. And mostly, _Klaus_. In contrast to his skin, his lips were cold, so Caroline didn't hold anything back as she licked and sucked and swallowed down anything that stole his temperature. The raindrops resting on the corner of his mouth, the wind cutting through, the initial wince and freezing from Klaus himself, the loneliness, fear and defeat slithering down the surface.

 _She took them all._

Soon they were all tangled up without a way out-eager tongues, hot breaths, clinging limbs, incoherent moans. His hand was holding the back of her head to him with so much force while his tongue plunged through her mouth, as if he didn't know which could get him closer to her faster.

Caroline reached up to lose her fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck, adding just the right amount of pressure while her pinky gently brushed his pulse point. The gesture seemed to ground him, as Klaus' motions became less frantic. He retreated his tongue a little to more thoroughly ravage her already swollen lips, his body slowly relaxing only to envelop her in a steaming cocoon as every curve of them fit seamlessly into each other.

The only non-Klaus sensation floating in the peripheral of her consciousness was the raindrops sizzling at the back of her exposed hand.

When they finally pulled back, both breathing hard, Caroline cupped Klaus' cheek again with her hand that was caressing his chest just seconds ago, "I'm glad. That you are alive."

They were still so close she could almost feel the shape of his smile with her own.

"You don't seem too surprised."

She shrugged a little, "I've only once truly believed in your demise, and that was a long time ago."

And she literally danced on his grave that time. How things have changed.

"Not even when you came to New Orleans for the first time?" His tone was so casual it took a good two seconds before his question sank in.

"What…? How did you…?" Her own inquiries died on her tongue before they fully made out of her lips. Of course he knew. And it suddenly dawned on Caroline that one of the reasons she could be so… _her_ around him was because deep down, she always assumed that he knew.

So she just shook her head, "not even then."

He lowered his eyes, a ghost of a smile donning the corner of his lips, "it warms my heart that you would seek my help in times of need, Caroline," even through his hooded eyelashes the intensity of his gaze still penetrated her like lightening, electric flames roaring through her veins, "but it also pains me that I was not there to lessen your woes."

Caroline could hear his tiny gasp when she pressed her lips to his cheek, "then it's a good thing I'm here for yours."

He stared at her for a long minute, an amazed look softening every line on his face, as if he couldn't quite believe she was real, "in these past months I've wondered if this was what it felt like on the other side. Watching on the sideline, all links to the living severed…as far as the rest of the world's concerned, I no longer exist."

He was trying hard to contain the tremor in his voice, but his tightening grip around Caroline's waist gave him away, "and yet now, looking at you…" he blinked a few times, searching her face for something that Caroline suspected even he himself wasn't sure was there. But he clearly found it, as he let out a quiet sigh, the blue in his eyes stilling to a mirror in which Caroline could see her own searching ones, "I think I've found my anchor."

Caroline could practically feel his gaze brushing every inch of her, drinking her in like she was the only color in a world of endless grey.

She knew it was a skewered perception. And she would show it to him, starting tomorrow-Rome had the richest colors you could dream of, the murals, the architecture, the fruits and wine, the sun…she would show him all. But today she would just focus on getting him dry and clean. That was enough for now.

So she took his hand and wordlessly led him into the secluded light and warmth of her room.

With a smile that for the first time tinted his eyes that night, he wordlessly let her.


End file.
